The outside of the box:
Altoid tin, secured with an antique button, and hemp twine with beads

Inside the tin, descriptions below

The box is an Altoid tin which I altered: First, I
hammered it to age it. Then I sprayed it with a cream-colored epoxy paint,
intended for use on large appliances. Finally, I sprayed the tin with copper and gold spray paints, to create a spattered effect.

Then, I used an awl to hammer two holes in the cover, to tie an
antique button to the top. The button is used to hold the tin
closed. The tin is secured with hemp twine, on which I strung some
beads, including wooden beads, glass beads, and a semi-precious stone.

Inside the tin:

1. On the bottom inside of the tin, I glued text from an
old snake oil (patent medicine) magazine.

3. A card describing the owner of the tin, with his
photo. The 19th-century photo actually shows one of my Irish ancestors, James "Jamie" Cronin.

The card says:

"This box and its contents were found in the jacket pocket of Dr. James Cronin, late of Kilmallock, Co. Limerick, Ireland.

"Dr. Cronin was an amateur anthropologist and student of the Tuathai. He had formed a unique thesis regarding the juxtaposition of Christian and metaphysical icons, in relation to miracles.

"Dr. Cronin's next destination was Hy-Breasail, where he planned to test his theory about the number five representing perfect stasis and change in the Tarot."

You can see the actual photo & text of card (a little blurry, since I used an
aged-looking font for the original),
here.

4. Each box contains a small brass monkey. It's a
reference to the golden era of "adventure" fiction, including Arthur
Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and so on.

5. Part of a playing
card from a fortune-telling deck. It's aged (sandpaper and folding),
smudged with gold leaf, and punched with the number 5, using an antique
check-writing punch.

6. Each box has at least one
actual bit of currency from an exotic country.

7.
Matchbox, covered with reproduction newspaper from Harper's Weekly during
the Civil War. It's stamped with the number 5 from a clock stamp
set. I aged the paper with coffee.

8.
Each box has a slightly different content, but each one contains an antique
strip of paper on which I stamped "I will grant you three
wishes." The boxes also contain fetish items,
including (sometimes) an animal figurine of wood or quartz, and/or a small golden ring.

9.
On fabric, I transferred the image of St. Jude, patron saint of lost
causes. The miracles of St. Jude are tremendous. On the reverse
side, I transferred a cryptic mix of images, including a dark photo of
Disney's Haunted Mansion being struck by lightning, plus a scan of a
Tarot card, The Tower, from a deck called The Vision
Tarot.

I made
a total of four of these tins for the Capolan/Relic Room exchange, in July
2000. (I made a fifth one, for myself.)